Pain
by sahdah
Summary: "In the company of the dead she was beginning to lose her humanity. That could not be allowed to happen." Overtaken by grief and disappear Orihime loses herself in Hueco Mundo.


**Pain…**

Orihime stared at the back side of the door. The echo of the slam still reverberated in the stifling room. Never being one to lose her temper, her many long months at Las Noches in _his_ company was beginning to change that.

The failed attempt of her friends to save her, her general feeling of abandonment and now _this,_ she could feel the anger festering. A sick grotesque feeling that was eating away at her very soul, her temper slowly climbed as she was beginning to shake.

In the company of the dead she was beginning to lose her humanity. That could not be allowed to happen. That was when she dropped to the floor turning her back to the blank expanse of the slammed door. Wrapping her arms around her knees she hugged her body tightly angry tears leaking from her eyes. Her heart felt bruised and torn.

If this was what he wanted then so be it. Who cared if she ever exhibited any warmth to anyone ever again? In this hell it no longer mattered.

Kurosaki, the face of her friend flashed in her mind and she opened her eyes. It was true she would be letting him down, by accepting all these feelings but she could no longer fight them off. When one was in the company of heartless creatures for so long, enduring the maximum of emotional stress she had ever been forced to endure, one lost sight of the things that mattered.

Looking back she wondered why she had ever taken it upon herself to try and become the friend of the man who had just exited. The haunting look about him had initially suggested to her that there might have once been a shred of humanity attached to his soul, but he no longer had one. Every conversation they'd had after Kurosaki had departed to the world of the living high-lighted that aspect even more.

What had she been thinking?

If anyone would have told her the results of pursuing this particular friendship, out of her loneliness, she would have laughed at the implications. Given her life she was nothing particularly special, yet she saw parts of people, the parts that hurt.

This called out to her and her biggest weakness was wanting, in some small way to make that hurt better. Little could she have known that, that was never her place or burden to undertake? How foolish had she been, prideful to think she of all people could make someone else feel any better? Orihime should never been allowed to forget her place for what was to happen would not only destroy herself it would destroy the other.

However the change had been so constant, and subtle that there was no way of knowing that things had changed, there was no way to feel a difference until there was one.

…

The woman was becoming unmanageable. Ulquiorra's patience was wearing thin; it was not in his nature to constantly remind her of her place. No, he said it once, it was expected that it not be forgotten.

The door had been slammed to prove yet another point. Being around her was dangerous to her. The number four Espada would no longer cave to the weakness of being near her. This was of course for her protection.

They had come with their pathetic attempt to rescue her, the trash she considered her friends. In their failure, they had left her even more broken. It was something that needed to be pointed out to her. Being what she was, of course she had not taken it well.

Feelings of what use were they?

It bothered him how much stock she put into her emotions. How had they served her thus far? Obviously they had not.

What had even made him notice her in the first place?

That was the more bothersome question. Ulquiorra closed his eyes momentarily in frustration.

Since the beginning she was under the order not to speak. Yet, she had.

At one point he had started listening, against his own better judgment. Where was the harm in indulging her stupid fantasies, if you could call it that?

The orders Aizen had given were that she be placed under his care, that he should be responsible for her wellbeing. Apparently she needed to say things, at first letting her speak was easy, he ignored everything interjecting words only when he felt it absolutely necessary. This seemed to make her feel better, not that he had cared.

Something in the sound of her voice, the delivery of her convictions had ensnared him. It started becoming apparent that she enjoyed his mostly silent company; it amused him to hear her speak, even more so when she smiled. The walls that he had built up were slowly becoming undone, in such a way that he couldn't have noticed until it was too late.

Then _he_ had come. Tried to come and save her, from him, from all of them. The orange haired shinigami would not be allowed to take her from his presence. That was the moment when Ulquiorra realized that the particular situation had very much gotten away from him.

It was with silent vindictive pleasure that he himself sunk his hand clear into the substitute shinigami, ironic how it had to be the exact location of his hollow hole. After all wasn't this the one man she had painstakingly gone to say her goodbye too, the one who had never returned her feelings. The boy had no right to try and come into save her from a world where she was adapting. A world where she was in his presence and Ulquiorra was not about to share her with anyone else. They had had their moment and squandered it.

…

' _How dare he treat you this way…'_

Orihime raised her head looking around for the source of the voice.

Quiet giggling filled her mind.

' _Silly, I'm not out there…'_

There was a cold chill near her collar bone and Orihime gripped at it with her hand, stifling a small scream when she felt the cloth give a little where her sternum should be. What was that?

' _Have you figured it out yet, silly?'_

Orihime clenched her teeth with the pain that gripped her heart.

' _Mistress, I've been here this whole time. Why are you so lonely?'_

The voice was intoxicatingly seductive. Orihime's breathing was coming in rapid. The voice was in her head, in her heart, where all the pain was. The give in the fabric frightened her most of all, she didn't dare remove her top to examine it.

' _No, I don't think that would be a good idea. It might scare you. Tell me, why are you so lonely? Why do you let him talk to you in such a manner, he's heartlesssss.'_

The way the voice dragged out the "s" made Orihime's blood chill. Her face pulled into a frown.

Things had been starting to go well with Ulqi…, with _him._ At times he asked her questions. Mostly he listened. Yet things had irrevocably changed when her friends had come for her.

' _Almost came for you.'_

The girl started…the voice was still present. Yes, well when they had come for her, things had gotten worse. He became detached and more moody.

When Grimmjow had come for her to heal Kurosaki, well that had been damn near unforgiveable by his standards. The berating he had given her for being foolish enough to try and save those who would meet their ends at the hands of the Espada. It was against Aizen's plan for her; she needed to be reminded of which side she had chosen.

' _Boring, you're more foolish because you can't see it, can you silly?'_

Couldn't see what? The voice was pulling her in, it was hypnotizing. It was pulling her in like a snake wrapping its self around her weakness. Red eyes flashed in Orihime's vision startled she pushed back hitting the door.

"Ow…" the pitiful whine escaped her as she rubbed her head where it had slammed into the door. The face that belonged to the voice was her own…the iris' were red…more giggling filled her head.

' _So silly, Orihime, Ulquiorra has fallen in love with you, foolish_ onna _.'_

That was impossible.

' _Really? He just behaves the way he does out of his good graces. He was once a Hollow…we can be so selfish…maybe that's why I realized it long before you will.'_

The new revelation had Orihime's painfully throbbing head spinning all the worse. What do you mean?

' _Nothing…just a guess after all I only know about_ love _because you do. Your painfully pathetic feelings for Kurosaki-kun and your extremely confused feelings for your_ dear _captor. They're wrong, those feelings, to feel such things for someone…oh excuse me…something that isn't even…_ alive. _Pathetic…'_

The air was becoming stagnant in the room, but that was mainly due to the fact that Orihime had stopped breathing. In that instant she gasped for air, her heart thrumming wildly.

The other Orihime was now fully visible to her, her Arrancar clothing chromatically opposite of the white suite she was now wearing. Hollow, this was Orihime's hollow.

The red haired woman frantically looked for anywhere to run.

Before any idea could solidly form her surroundings changed and she was in a vast meadow, it was a special place her brother had brought her to when she was younger. Turning around slowly a few times took that thought away from Orihime, it was similar but it was no place that existed physically.

On her second frantic turn she was confronted with the other Orihime who looked completely solid. Orihime turned to run only to be stopped in her tracks as the other was in front of her. How had she moved so fast?

' _Honestly mistress, let me help you.'_

The black garbed woman extended her hand to Orihime.

The next thing Orihime knew was pain, constricting pain. Opening her eyes, she found herself a few feet in the air kicking wildly struggling for breath. Nails dug into her soft skin and she could feel the blood trickling down to her collar, the other Orihime had her neck in a vice like grip choking her; there was nothing she could do.

No scream she could make, no one would hear it. Who would come anyway? Kurosaki, Ulquiorra? No one would come. This was one fight Orihime had been unprepared for.

The pain grew not only in her neck, her legs quit kicking out, and her head was feeling fit to burst. There were black spots were forming in her vision. It was hard to believe she might be getting sleepy, from somewhere outside herself she felt her body being lowered onto the meadow grass.

' _Shhh mistress, I wasn't going to hurt you. You need to rest; I will take care of you...'_

Orihime's eyes opened but that was it, the girl was gently adjusting her hair around her. She had folded her hands over her heart. Bending down the other kissed Orihime gently on the forehead.

' _Everything will be alright…'_

Orihime's world went black as she started screaming at the top of her lungs.

…

In her cell Orihime stood up walking over to the mirror. As the reflection came into view a smile formed on the woman's lips, the irises were a shade darker a brown almost tinted red, hardly noticeable by any standards.

They would all soon learn what it meant to mess with her mistress; Orihime wrapped her arms around her new form. He had no idea what he would be in for.

…

Ulquiorra was in a foul mood making his way back to the woman's cell with her evening dinner.

On his way to collect her meal he had been ambushed by Loly and Menoly. If there were two incredibly useless Arrancar, it was these two. Increasingly since their altercation with Orihime, Ulquiorra's patience with their type of trash was thin.

"Taking the princess her meal?" Loly's rude attitude was answered by a side long look from the fourth Espada, green iris' narrowing.

"Doesn't trash like you have another place to be?"

"Ooh, someone is touchy about his ward" Menoly laughed as Loly sauntered to the serving dishes picking up the lids looking at the food distastefully.

"You call us trash." Loly dropped the lid. "Are we not as good as the likes of your _princess?_ How pathetic, you've become Ulquiorra." She rolled her eyes at him as he walked by.

As he made his way further down the hall she called out, "Do you think she cares that you _love_ her…didn't she say good bye to the red headed substitute shinigami that failed to save her? You know he was sort of attractive, for a human, and that hollow mask…"

Her words made him pause momentarily and then he kept walking.

Loly did not miss his halt. "You're deluded Ulquiorra, she doesn't love you. She only talked to you because she was lonely. You fool. This is almost as much fun as it was to beat that little bitch senseless." Her gleeful laughter echoed off the walls.

This time Ulquiorra stopped completely in the hallway stretching his neck to one side then the other. You're the foolish one, trash.

Using sonido, Loly's eyes widened as she found him standing in front of her. The laughter cut short as he withdrew his hand from her sternum.

Loly's eyes were wide as her body fell backward, "You bastard. How could she ever want to love you?"

Menoly stared as his figure disappeared down the corridor before stooping to help Loly.

…

Ulquiorra stared at the door, something was different. Attributing the change to the anger he was feeling toward the irritating women he had left in the corridor, he entered the chamber without knocking.

The interior was dark almost foreboding. Words he would have never associated with the light that Orihime seemed to radiate. At times it had diminished but it had never been extinguished. It was difficult to place what seemed amiss in the darkness.

Surveying the room he at last spotted her. Orihime had her back turned to him, her head hung low, her long luminous hair obstructed everything she looked pathetic. It did not matter. Ulquiorra was determined to make sure their paths no longer crossed more than was absolutely necessary.

"Your dinner, _onna._ " he watched her for a reaction, there was none. Even for her this was not normal. Every time before she had always made some pitiful attempt to mend whatever rift was forming between them. This was as it should be. Who was he to start questioning that?

The servant set the serving dish in front of the young woman removing the lid. Ever so slowly almost as if it were labored, she picked up the fork and began to eat her meal. She had said nothing since he had entered.

Why now of all times was her attitude bothering him? _"You're deluded Ulquiorra, she doesn't love you."_ The words of that infernal woman rolled around his head. The worst part was that she had picked up on his feelings for the woman he was now coldly observing. Arrancar felt things differently than humans, but had he been so obvious?

"Why did you start talking to me _onna_?" The question was asked involuntarily.

The movement of the fork paused and then continued. There was no answer.

"After all this time, you are now rendered speechless?" His tone was apathetic.

Orihime kept eating steadily.

How strange, something was definitely amiss, she would have usually been crying by this point. The tension in the room was palpable.

Ulquiorra crossed the space, loudly pulling out the chair opposite her. All the while she steadily kept eating not bothering to look up, her conduct was infuriating him, yet his exterior remained smooth.

"Answer me, I will not ask a second time." His gaze never left her face. He watched her as she carefully placed the fork next to her plate and raised her head to meet his frown.

The first thing he noticed in the low light was that her eyes looked lifeless. Had he been human he might have at one point felt a chill, being that he was not the observation came and went without even a hint of amusement.

Orihime held his hard steady look, "You told me to stay away from you." Adding nothing more she held his gaze until he spoke again.

"That is not the answer to the question I asked."

"I have nothing else to say. What more do you want?" There was a bit of defiance to her attitude, the way she held his gaze, it held no respect.

Her rudeness was not to be tolerated. "Do not test me _onna_." Pushing the chair back he got up to leave, after all this time her demeanor had given her no wisdom to understand what he was doing was for her best interests.

' _Shhh mistress, he is almost gone.'_

 _The voice infuriated her as she watched helpless with no power to do anything. Orihime sobbed uncontrollably inside her prison. She had wanted to tell him why she had reached out to him, she hated the defiance and overall sever attitude of her captor._

 _It made her angry seeing him walk away yet again. Never had he stayed to explain the reasons why he did things so abruptly. This had always been the way with him, but he didn't care about her frustrations with his attitude. If he actually explained things instead of leaving her in the dark perhaps she wouldn't have ruined things so badly between them in the first place._

 _Out of frustration she had made the grave error of waving him off on one of his rants. That had resulted in the now unfixable chasm between them. Aizen had intervened and put a stop to Grimmjow bringing her dinners. She was after all Ulquiorra's responsibility._

 _Nothing had been resolved; Orihime had her own pride and dignity pitted against Ulquiorra's pride and stubbornness…Orihime started sobbing all the harder. It was that whole situation that had led to the slammed door. He had made it clear to stay away from him._

 _Orihime had absolutely no plans on forcing her company on anyone who did not want it. Yet she had no power or desire to go against his wishes, she could see the pain it caused him being around her. One day she would no longer be part of this world, he had a point she had needed to stay away but it was more for his sake than her own. However she had not counted on being usurped from her own body and actions powerless to explain anything further._

Orihime's body stood up and walked to the center of the light cast by the open door of the cell.

Ulquiorra stood by as the servant collected the dinner service and went out the door.

 _Orihime realized her captor had missed the change in Ulquiorra's reiatsu. Watching in helpless frustration as he cross the room back to where her body stood devoid of her life._

Ulquiorra reached out pulling Orihime by the waist and held her tightly against his body.

 _Orihime screamed out trying to seize the body that was rightfully hers. He had never grabbed her let alone looked at her the way he was looking at her now._

Ulquiorra brought his lips to Orihime's crushing hers, kissing her deeply. His mouth forcing hers open roughly invading her mouth in ways Orihime had never dared think of in her lonely waking hours, but she was trapped and a cold fear gripped her.

It was then that he noticed the body was almost lifeless in his arms, but his hunger was nowhere near satiated. There was no push or pull for her to get away from him, his breathing came in ragged with the anger he was now feeling.

This was not the way he had expected her to react. There was the idea she might react with anger, after all she had struck him once before. But nothing, this he had not anticipated? Looking up to her face now so close to his, he realized her eyes were soulless, there was nothing there.

 _Orihime was hoarse, hiccupping as she cried and raged. After so much time, he actually did feel something for her and she had been deprived of that kiss. She had felt nothing, not the hands gripping her body, nor his lips on her mouth, the taste of his tongue. The body around her was tingling with its own energy, nothing good was about to happen. Orihime tried with all her might to keep it from doing something stupid._

"Tell me Ulquiorra, did you enjoy that?" The voice of the woman was incredibly soft but the words struck him like physical blows.

It was in that moment that her reiatsu peaked and in a flash of movement Ulquiorra's eyes went wide with horror and her hand plunged into his hollow hole. She came close running the tip of her nose on the exposed skin of his neck. Her scent was overwhelming.

"Did you feel anything, in here?" The words were softer than the first question. He felt the brush of her hair on the exposed skin of his navel. Her soft breath was heating up the cold skin of his neck. "No? I didn't think so."

The skin of his right arm felt as if it were on fire and her hand traveled down his arm toying with his hand, the hand he himself stabbed into others precisely where his own hollow hole was.

The worst of it was he could feel his body betraying him, this was not Orihime. The hand which had gripped his was guiding his hand up her body. How many times had he wanted to feel that body with his hands?

She brought his hand up and used it to undo the fastener of her own jacket. Exposing a hollow hole on her sternum, she guided his hand to the abomination on the body of the woman he loved.

"What about here?" She removed her right hand from his hollow hole.

 _Orihime clawed at the walls of her prison. So choked up on emotion her vision was incredibly blurred. Reduced to being third party to an action that she was supposed to be a part of._

The hollow side of Ulquiorra was taking over; her peaked reiatsu was pushing him closer to an edge he should have never toyed with.

"This is what you have reduced your precious Orihime to, Ulquiorra. A soulless hollow, are you happy now?" Her head tilted. The hand that had been removed from hollow hole was touching his body in a manner he only allowed in his visions.

If there was one thing the kiss had caused it was now his insatiable hunger for the woman in his arms and he would possess her. With the slightest movement of his hand he ripped her top open further exposing her body.

Gripping her body tightly once more he ravaged her neck inhaling her scent greedily. The movement of their bodies was halted by the wall, she made no protest against his forceful actions, nor did she make any sounds. There was no reaction, it was as it had been during the kiss earlier, this was enraging Ulquiorra. He would not have this. Yet the other part of his being had taken over and there was no stopping the other nature, his eyes were tinting black. Why would she not react?

He ripped the top of her uniform from her body and she stared at him with the blank taunting look.

Her pleasure was coming from the tormenting of the woman trapped within her being, completely unknown to Ulquiorra. Had he known, his anger would be all the more great.

Anger and overall emptiness was consuming him as he tore off the rest of her uniform. The woman did not even flinch in her now naked state, she continued looking through Ulquiorra.

 _Orihime did her best to gain control of her emotions; she could feel the pleasure radiating from the other, pleasure at her torment. Standing up she looked out on Ulquiorra, knowing if the woman continued the way she was he would just leave._

Sensing the change within her, Orihime closed the distance between her and the fourth Espada. Her hands ripped off his jacket and she pressed her naked body against him. He was growing hard and she could feel it through the fabric of the hakama.

Running her hands over his body she pulled herself into his cold body, kissing his shoulder. The cold from his skin was making her nipples ache as the temperature caused them to become hard. Breathing softly, she could tell she was having an effect on his normally cold demeanor, but inside things were even more interesting.

 _The trapped woman screamed in furious anger. Let me out of here!_

' _Shhh mistress, the best is to come, patience.'_

Ulquiorra's skin was on fire due to the heat of the woman who was shamelessly pressed against him. His hands hungrily explored her warm body. Fingers memorizing the soft curves, she had reacted after all.

Her hands worked his hakama undone and he felt the rest of the heat of her body. She ran her hands up and down his tight muscular body feeling every inch of him, for the specific benefit of her audience. His breathing was becoming more audible, he was enjoying himself.

The reiatsu of the two was feeding off of itself; she found herself against the wall again, more roughly this time. There was no way she wasn't going to fight back, he understood now the woman he wanted wasn't quite present, but that didn't take away the greed he had to possess her physical form.

Wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in closer she braced her back against the wall and brought her legs up wrapping them around her. She felt him trapped between her, and observed his eyes open wide as he felt her moisture. His eyes were tinting black with his arousal. She dug in her nails and kissed his mouth roughly, grinding her hips on his hard erection.

His hands gripped her thighs taking her to the center of the room. _"How could she ever love you?"_ Pushing the words out of his mind he took what rightfully should belong to him, wasn't it he that had taken care of her for this long.

He entered her with a forceful thrust. Her face was smooth and devoid of emotion. His breath was almost torn from him because of her tightness. Again the empty emotion he felt fueled his anger as she reflected what he was feeling. She was warm, her moisture wrapped around him was nothing compared to the cold he felt in his hollow hole, and his thrusting became more forceful with each passing minute.

His actions had turned her into this; he was beginning to see that now. This was never meant to happen, she felt nothing for him.

 _That's not true…she sobbed._

In a different part the other Orihime laughed gleefully at the play of emotions between the two fools. However the game was not to end this way.

He was taken by surprise as her body came to life rolling him onto his back. He looked up into her eyes.

"Orihime?" There was something different in her eyes at any rate.

She put her finger to his lips. Her body caressed his; she had leaned over, her petite body hardly covering any of his. She ran her hands on his arms until his hands were above his head, her hair obstructed her face but its scent enveloped him. Her hips were moving in a slow circular motion, she breathed softly near his ear.

"Ulquiorra," she whispered. "Why do you want me to stay away from you?"

With her body overwhelming his senses he could hardly have answered her.

Her breathing became more audible as she worked her hips harder, her grip on his hands tightened, her reiatsu was peaking. He focused on her kissing his neck, her hard breathing was getting to him; it matched her intensity as she moved him in and out of her.

The way her hands had his arms pinned made it difficult to extract his arms especially when she gripped him tighter, not that she could have hurt him even if she was trying. He broke free gripping her hips tightly, his own need was growing, her hands found his shoulders and her nails dug in which only added fire to his need.

Releasing one hand from her hips he gripped her hair roughly. Her body gripped his all the more tighter and he felt her inner walls constrict tightly around him, the nails raking down his arm.

Rolling her on her back he could feel himself reaching his edge. He gripped her body fiercely as he came to his end, "because I love you."

 _Orihime had suspected as much, but never expected him to say it._

The laughter shocked the Espada who had revealed more of himself in that moment than ever before as much as it horrified the woman who had been forced to watch everything.

"You thought she was back? Tell me Ulquiorra did you see the hollow hole disappear?"

He had already moved as far from the body as he could the instant he heard her mirth. The woman propped herself on her elbows looking at him with blank eyes once again.

"You're more foolish than I thought. Poor Orihime, to finally hear those words after you ravage her body and she didn't even get to experience it for herself. Isn't that right Orihime?"

Her body contorted momentarily as an inhumane scream ripped through the cell.

In that moment Ulquiorra understood the difference in the reactions he had experience, they hadn't been for his benefit, no it had all been to torture Orihime.

The hollow regaining possession of the body looked at him steadily. "Sorry about that, she's obviously…in pain…"

The last two words came out constricted as she found her body in the air, in very much the same position she had held the girl within the confines of her own inner world. Looking down at the furious face of the Espada who held her by her neck, mocking laughter escaped her.

"You'd be doing her a favor…" she managed to whisper.

He flung her body onto the couch, her choking laughter eating away at nothing, he had no heart, and it wasn't like he could feel anything.

' _Mistress I told you to have patience.'_

 _Orihime came face to face with her hollow self once more. Not knowing what else to do she slapped the black garbed woman across the face with all her might. It didn't matter the other had accomplished what she had set out to do, and left the girl with her body._

Orihime cried and coughed as she was returned to the physical feeling of her own body. The voice was no longer present. Curling her legs under her wrapping her arms around her naked form letting her hair obscure her from the Espada who was now dressed leaning against the wall. She cried, out of despair, it was her fault all of this had happened.

The sound of the world being torn asunder was the only thing that made her look up from her miserable position where her body had landed on the couch. A garganta had been opened in the center of her cell.

"It will stay open for twenty-four hours after which it will close. Choose to either return to your old life or stay here with me." With that he left the room.

Orihime sobbed all the harder for the next few minutes before picking herself up and going to the washroom that connected to her cell. She thought of how much easier life would be if she just drowned herself in the tub.

As the hot water filled the tub she continued crying more silently now, the tears just leaked over her red rimmed eyes. Her mood was extremely deplorable. Her tired defiled body sunk into the hot water and it momentarily eased some of her pain, it could do nothing for the pain that gripped her soul.

She closed her eyes and submerged, holding her breath for as long as she possibly could. Trying to feel a different kind of pain any other kind of pain than the one she felt. Relenting to the screaming of her lungs she surfaced inhaling the humid air. She washed his scent away from her hair, from her body, she scrubbed furiously trying to rid herself of the cursed words her hollow had left burned into her mind.

After sometime she finally dragged her body from the now cold bath water. Wrapping her body in one of the towels, she sat resting her head on her knees, no more tears would come. Her hand worked its way to her sternum, the hollow hole was no longer there, but neither was anything else, she felt hollow inside.

Coming back to the room she found her regular street cloths folded in a neat pile on one of the end table. There was a meal on the table, looking around she confirmed that the garganta was still there. This meant that he had brought her these things himself.

If he honestly had ever loved her, he had a fucked up way of showing it. She grabbed her cloths and returned to the wash room. Pulling the familiar garments over her tingling skin made her feel more alive than she had in the past few hours.

Running her hair brush through her hair she adjusted her hair pins into their normal position. There, she could have been ready to be stepping out with Ichigo, Rukia, Tatsuki, Chad, and Ishida.

In all the time that had passed Ulquiorra had not returned to speak with her directly, she left the washroom, her stomach growling uncomfortably.

This was the first time she had sat down at this table to eat her meal without him, a new wave of emotion threatened to consume her. Grabbing the lid she threw it with all her might, the resounding crash of it against the wall made her feel a little better.

She ate as much as she could, and decided it really didn't matter. Orihime had made up her mind to return to the world of the living. Ulquiorra didn't want her around, regardless of how he felt about her. Nor could she give him what he wanted, she was torn, between this world and the one she had left.

Orihime knew she would never feel quite right about anyone else, not after everything she had gone through with Ulquiorra. Why had things ended the way they did…

There would never be any answers.

Walking to the garganta she stood immobile in front of the gateway. Anger, sadness, despair all these emotions had come and gone, she must have spent hours staring at the gaping hole. Resignation took over, Orihime steadied herself, the faces of her friends came to her mind and she took a breath…

…

Ulquiorra opened the door to see Orihime's back swallowed by the garganta.


End file.
